Car door support



Aug. 31, 1937. T. MADLAND CAR DOOR SUPPORT Filed Dec.

ll, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 31, 1937. T. MADLAND 2,091,393

CAR DOOR SUPPORT Filed De o. ll, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented ng. 31,1937 PM12Nr orties CAR noon SUPPORT p Thorvala Madame, Chicago, In.,assigner, by mesne assignments, to The' Youngstown Steel Door Company,Cleveland, Ohio, 'a corporation of Ohio i Application December. 11,1933, lSerial No. 701,744

6 Claims.

This invention relates to car doors and concerns itself moreparticularly with car doors adapted to slide upon rollers carried by thecar.

It is an object of this invention to provide car 5 doors supported forsliding movement upon rollers carried by the cars, thesedoors beingconstructed so as to be rictionally supported in open and closedpositions with the weight thereof removed from the rollers.

A further object of the invention is to provide sliding car doorsfrictionally supported inv open and closed positions upon meanssecuredto the car, the doors being slidable upon anti-frictio'nal meanscarried by the car means for uninterrupted l5 movement between open andclosed positions'.

Additional objects of the invention will become clear as the descriptionthereof proceeds.

In the drawings forming part oi this specication,

Figure 1 is a partial elevation of a railway house car showing theinvention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a View similar to Figure l, showing the door in anintermediate position;

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken on line'3'3 of Figure l; l

Figure 4 is a vertical section of a modified `forni of the invention;

Figure 5 is a vertical section of ay further modication of theinvention;

Figure 6 is a vertical section of another embodiment of the invention; lv Figure 7 is a vertical sectionv of one form of the invention appliedto a single sheathed car; and

Figure 8 is a horizontal section taken on line 8--8 of Figure 5.

Referring to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures 1 to3, inclusive, of the drawings the numeral it designates a side of a 40railway house car provided with a door opening l'l adapted to be closedby means of a sliding door l2. The door illustrated is of metallicconstruc-` tion and embodies a sheet metal panel I3 formed preferablywith a plurality of spaced horizontal 45 corrugations I4 which merge attheir ends' into vertical corrugations l5 and I6 formed in said paneladjacent the vertical edges thereof.

The door is mounted upon the car side through the agency of a pluralityof spaced metallic 50 brackets Il. These brackets, as clearly shown inFigures 1 to 3 of the drawings, are se'cured'to a channel shapedreinforcing member IB provided on the car and serving as a reinforcementfor a side sill i9. Each of the brackets I'l is pro- 55 vided With aroller 2li, said rollers being mounted upon a pin or axle v2-| throughthe'agency of a roller bearing 22.

It has beenfound to'be desirable in sliding door structures for railwayhouse cars to support the weight of the door by means having frictionalenf. 5 gagementfwith a relatively xed part of the car to-ther'ebyrelieve the antifriction means, utilized to facilitate movement of thedoor between open and closed positions, of the weight thereof and thuseliminate wearupon said antifriction means. 10 To thisend, in theembodiment of the invention considered, there is secured to the lowermargin of thedoor an angle member 23. The upwardly extending leg 24 ofsaid angle member is disposed between the metallic panel i3 and abacking ,-15 plate'Z `extending across thelowermost horizontalcorrugation` lll and secured to these parts. The horizontally extendingleg 2G ofthe angle member 23- is directed inwardly toward the car. Atspacediintervals corresponding tothe spacing of the r'ollersi'illcarried by the brackets l1, the inwardly `extending horizontal leg 26 ofthe angle member 2135 is-provided with upwardly extending indentures 2l.Eachv of these indentures is of suchl height that when the door hasreached its 25 closed or full open position engagement between theinwardly extending flange 26 of the angle member 23.-with thecorresponding roller brackets may be had Without obtaining engagementbetween said` inwardly extending flange and the rollers 2Il';`-By'virtue of'this fact it will be apparentL thatin the closed and fullopen positions of the door frictional engagement between the anglemember23l and the roller brackets is had so that the weight of the door l2 iscarried by .'35 said rollerbrackets. The rollers 2l! will then'berelieved of such weight so that the wear incident uponsuch rollersandtheir pins in the normal application-of car doo-rs is eliminated. Thisfrictional supportof the 'door upon the roller brackets in bothA theclosed and full open positions is clearly illustratedin Figure 1 of thedrawings.

, Itis requisite7 however,that the door be supported upon.l the rollersfor easy and unimpeded movementA between these positions. Thischaracteristic obtainsn in the embodiment of the invention considered,the spacing and association between the indentures 21 and the rollerbrackets ll and 20-being-so designed that' in all intermediate positionsof the door it will Vbe supported upon the rollers'. One intermediateposition ofthe door illustrating such support is clearly shown in Figure2 of the drawings. To transfer the 'door from its frictional supportupon the brackets to engagementv upon the rollers any desired means l5;

may be utilized. One form of such means is shown in Figures 1 to 3,inclusive. This means embodies a lever 28 pivotally mounted upon abracket 29 secured to the door l2. The lever 28 5 extends behind aquadrant 3U formed preferably integral with the bracket 29 whereby toretain the' lever upon the door and to limit the angular movementthereof. The lower end of the lever carries a double acting cam 3lpivotally secured thereto'. One of the brackets Il, disposed below thedoor opening, is formed to provide a depression de'- fined by theupwardly extending walls/32 and 33 and the horizontally extending wall34. Similarly,

one of the brackets Il, disposed beyond the door l5 opening, iscorrespondingly formed. While it has been indicated that only two of thebrackets illustrated are formed so as to provide depressions it will beapparent that all of said brackets may be so 4constructed if desired.

It will be apparent then when it is desired to move the door from itsclosed position, in which it is frictionally supported upon Vthe rollerbrackets, toward open position that the lever 28 may be grasped andswung toward the right as viewed in Figure 1 of the drawings. Thismovement of the lever will effect engagement between the left handportion of the cam 3| and the wall 32 provided upon the roller bracket.Continued swinging movement of the lever'r 28 will introduce a forceacting upon the door through the pivotal connection between the leverand the door which will cause the door to move toward the right. Duringthis movement engagement between the flat portions of the inwardlyextending '35 ilange 26 of the angle member 23 and the rollers 20 willbe had, whereby the door will be lifted above the roller b-rackets andsupported by means of said flat portions upon the rollers. The .door maythen readily be moved toi'full open position and it will be apparentfrom the illustration of Figures 1 and 2 that said door will, duringsuch movement, be supported upon said rollers so that an easy unimpededtravel of the door is obtained. When the doo-r has reached its full openposition the indentures 21 provided upon the inwardly 'extending flange26 of the angle member v23 will register with the rollers secured-to thechannel member I8 beyond the door opening so'that the door willautomatically be lowered and the frictional engagement between the anglemember 23 and the roller brackets will again be established. To move thedoor to closed position the lever 28 may again be actuated by swingingit toward the left as viewed in Figure 1, whereby the cooperationbetween the cam 3l and the corresponding wall provided on the bracketformed with the depressed portion will again cause the door toy besupported upon the rollers for such movement.

In Figure 4 of the drawings there is illustrated a modied form of theinvention. In this form a substantially Z-shaped member is secured t0the lower margin of the `metallic panel I3. The Z-shaped memberisprovided with an upwardly extending ilange 36 by means of which themember is secured to the metallic panel, an inwardly substantiallyhorizontally extending flange 31 and a depending iiange 38. The inwardlyextending flange 3l is provided with a plurality of spaced recesses 39through which the rollers 2li are adapted to extend in order to obtainfrictional engagement between the member 35 and the roller brackets e5in which the rollers 25 are mounted. Each of the brackets Q0 in thisembodiment of the invention is spaced from the channel reinforcingmember I8, and the depending ilange 38 provided on the Z-shaped mernbei35 is disposed so as to lie between the channel reinforcing member andthe bracket. By this constructionv the lower portion of the door isguided by theA brackets and disengagement of said portion of the doorfrom brackets is avoided. The embodiment of the invention illustrated inFigure 5 of the drawings utilizes a substantially T-shaped member 4l atlthe.` lower margin of the door. The member 4l is disposed v'v'ith itsstem 42 secured to the lower' margin of the metallic panel i3 and withits head anges 43 and 44 directe-d, respectively, outwardly and inwardlyrelative to the car. In this form of the' invention a plurality ofroller brackets l5 andwt are utilized, the brackets 45 extendingoutwardly from the channel reinforcing member l 8 to which they aresecured to a greater extent than the roller brackets 45. The brackets 45and 46 are preferably alternately arranged, whereby when the headflanges 53 and 44 are disposed upon the rollers so that the door mayreadily be moved between open and closed positions, the weight of saiddoor will be distributed between said anges. The door is illustrated inits lowered position in which the T- shaped member 42 is frictionallysupported upon the roller brackets e5 and 46, while the rollers 20extend into indentures 4l and 48 formed in the head flanges 43 and 44.It will be apparent that any desired arrangement of the roller brackets45 and 46 other than the alternate arrangement indicated may beutilized.

A T-shaped member is also utilized in the embodiment of the inventionillustrated in Figure 6 of the drawings. In this form of the inventionthe T-shaped member 49 is arranged so that the head flanges 55 and 5lthereof are disposed substantially vertically while the stem 52 of saidmember extends inwardly. The head flange 50 is utilized to secure Vthemember to the metallic panel. A plurality of roller brackets 53 providedwith rollers 28 are utilized to alternately support the door infrictional and antifrictional relationship with respect to the brackets.As illustrated the door is shown in its lowered position in whichfrictional engagement between the head flange 5l and the roller bracketobtains. In this frictional engagement the roller 20 extends into anindenture 54 provided in the stem 52 of the T-shaped member. The entireweight of the door, consequently, is carried by the roller brackets. Thehead flange 5I extends into a pocket 55 formed on the roller bracket 53,whereby to guide the lower margin ci the door duringthe movement of saiddoor and to prevent disengagement thereof from the roller brackets.

The various forms of the invention heretofore described are shownapplied to a metal sheathed car. The application of the invention to asingle sheathed car is illustrated in Figure 7 of the drawings. In thisapplication each of the roller brackets 56 is extended so that theroller 20 carried thereby lies outwardly of the bracing 5l carried bythe car. The lower margin of the metallic panel of the car door hassecured thereto by means of the head ilange 58 a substantially T-shapedmember 59, the other head flange 68 of which extends downwardly whilethe stem 6l of said member is directed outwardly relative to the car.The door is illustrated in its lowered position in which the flange 65frictionally supports the door upon the roller brackets. The ange 68lies behind the portion of theV roller bracket in which the roller 2U ismounted so as to guide said door during its travel and preventdisengagement of the lower portion thereof from the brackets. vAnll'lpvvarflly'` extending lug 62 formed on the roller bracket 56 may beutilized to aid in guiding ofthe door. The stem 6| of the T-shapedmemberl`59 is' provided as in the previous embodiments of theinventionwith upwardly extending indentures 63 in which the rollers 20 may bereceived when thedoor is frictionally supported upon "the-"rollerbrackets so as to relieve the rollers 20 of the weight of said door.

It may be noted, with respect to each of the embodiments of theinvention illustrated, that in its lowered position the door isfrictionally supported upon the roller brackets so that the Weight ofsaid door is carried in a direct line to the brackets.

It will be apparent that numerous changes and modifications in thedetails of the invention will be clear to those skilled in the art. Itis intended, therefore, that all such modiiications and changes becomprehended within this invention, which is to 'be limited only by thescope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

l. Structure for frictionally and antifrictionally supporting a slidingdoor comprising a plurality of fixed unequally spaced brackets disposedbelow the lower edge of said door, a roller carried by each of saidbrackets, the lower edge of said door being provided with a plurality ofspaced indentures, certain of said rollers being l received in saidindentures in the closed position of said door and the remaining rollersbeing receiving in said indentures in the full open position of saiddoor, said door having a lowering movement when said rollers arereceived in said indentures and frictionally engaging said brackets, atleast two of said rollers being at all times in engagement with thelower edge of said door intermediate said indentures during the slidingmovement thereof between said positions, whereby said indentures willpass over said rollers and said door will have unimpeded movement.

2. In a railway house car having a door opening in a side thereof and asliding door for closing said opening, means for frictionally andantifrictionally supporting said door comprising an angular membersecured to the lower margin of said door having a horizontally extendingflange of a length substantially equal to the length of said door, aplurality of spaced brackets secured to said car below said door openingand a roller carried by each of said brackets, said rollers beingsubstantially similar, said flange being formed with a plurality ofspaced indentures adapted to receive certain of said rollers in theclosed position of said door and the other rollers in the full openposition of said door, said flange frictionally engaging said bracketswhen said rollers are received in said indentures whereby said door willbe frictionally supported upon said brackets in each of said doorpositions and means for moving said door from said frictional supportupon said brackets to dispose said flange upon said rollers and saidindentures above said rollers, at least two of said rollers being at alltimes in engagement with said flangey between said indentures duringsliding movement of said door between open and closed positions wherebysaid door has unimpeded antifrictional movement upon said rollersbetween closed and full open positions.

3. In a railway house car having a door opening ina sidethereof,la`plurality 'of' spaced brackets secured tosaid car adjacentsaid door opening, adjacent brackets extending unequal distances fromsaid car and alternate brackets eX- tending the same distance fromsaidcar, antifriction means rotatably supported by each of said brackets anda sliding door for closing said opening, said door having -an angularmember secured toa horizontal' margin thereof provided with oppositelyextending horizontal flanges, spaced indentures formed insaid flanges,the indentures in one flange being offset relative to the indentures inthe other flange, said indentures receiving certain of said antifrictionmeans in the closed position of said door and the remaining antifrlctionmeans in the full open position thereof, said member frictionallyengaging said brackets in said positions of the door to frictionallysupport said door, the flanges of said member being disposed upon saidantifriction means and said indentures lying above said antifrictionmeans intermediate closed and full open positions of said door wherebyto antifrictionally support said door for unimpeded movement betweensaid positions.

4. In a railway house car having a door opening in a side thereof and asliding door for closing said opening, a series of unequally spacedbrackets exceeding two in number secured to said car below said dooropening, a similar series of spaced brackets secured to said car beyondsaid door opening, antifriction means rotatably supported by each ofsaid brackets, a member provided with vertical and horizontal flangessecured to the lower margin of said door, said horizontal flange beingformed with spaced indentures having substantially the spacing of thebrackets of each series, the brackets o-f each series being spaced sothat in the full open and closed positions of said door said indentureswill receive the rollers of a corresponding series` of brackets and saidmember will engage said brackets to frictionally support said door, andbetween said positions of said door said member will be disposed uponand said indentures above said antifriction means whereby said memberwill support said door for unimpeded movement upon said antifrictionmeans.

5. In a railway house car having a door opening in a side thereof, aplurality of unequally spaced brackets secured to said car below saiddoor opening, rollers rotatably supported by said brackets, and asliding door for closing said opening, a T-shaped member secured to: thelower margin of said door, said member comprising head flanges and a.stem, one of said head flanges serving as the securing means for saidmember, the other of said head flanges having frictional engagement withsaid brackets in the closed and full open position of said door, wherebysaid brackets support said door, said stem overlying said rollers andhaving spaced indentures adapted to receive certain of said rollers inthe closed position of said door and the remaining rollers in the openposition of the door, at least two of said rollers being at all times inengagement with said stem intermediate said indentures during thesliding movement of said door between said positions.

6. In a railway house car having a door opening in a side thereof, aplurality of unequally spaced brackets secured to said car below saiddoor opening, rollers rotatably supported by said brackets, and asliding door for closing said opening, a T-shaped member secured to thelower 4:romans said rollers being at allv times in engagement with saidstem intermediate said ndentures during the sliding movement of saiddoor between said positions, and means for imparting movement to saiddoor to dispose said stein upon said rollers and said latter head angeout of engagement with. said brackets, said stem supporting said doorupon said rollers for uninterrupted movement between open and closedpositions.

, lO THORVALD

